This invention relates to recovering and towing vehicles, such as wreckers and the like for pulling cars, trucks and other vehicles which have been disabled and, more particularly, to a towing vehicle of novel universal type for recovery, loading thereon and towing a disabled vehicle for purposes of moving it.
There are a variety of so-called wreckers in both the patented prior art and in commercial practice, which date back over many decades. By the term "wrecker" is meant a towing vehicle of self-powered, self-contained type typically having a truck-like frame and/or body, and typically supported by dual or tandem dual wheels, the body or frame having a crane, winch or hydraulically extensible structure for engaging a disabled vehicle, lifting it and towing it. Because such a wrecker is itself a powered vehicle, it must be licensed and must comply with all requirements of motor vehicles, including insurance, payment of taxes and the like. Thus, wreckers are expensive to acquire, maintain and operate.
It has previously been proposed to use trailers instead of wreckers for transporting large vehicles, and there are long-bed trailer arrangements for this purpose as proposed, for example, in Schramm U.S. Pat. No. 2,838,191 which proposed an elevatable bed vehicle which is of the type now known as "low-boy", or other conventional flatbed trailer used for transporting, in particular, heavy equipment. Such a flatbed trailer is not suited for routine recovery and transporting of disabled vehicles as loading (off pound hauling) of such vehicles is very cumbersome.
Similarly, Bills, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,235 discloses a low-angle tilt trailer having a bed which can be positioned hydraulically to a rearward position in which it engages the ground for facilitating the loading and unloading of equipment. Again, this patent is representative of a type of specialized trailer used for heavy machinery, and wherein the machinery is transported in its entirety (hauled) upon the surface of the trailer.
Mauldin U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,492, discloses a trailer including a hydraulically operated mechanism for elevating or lowering the frame of the trailer, being a light duty construction suited only for transporting of very light loads, as for example, boats and intended to facilitate the launching and recovery of boats. Thus, such patent is typical of other types of trailers suited for pulling loads on and off the vehicle, but such boat trailers and the like are not suited for carrying of heavy vehicles, and particularly disabled vehicles.
For purposes of recovery of a disabled truck tractor, or truck unit Karlik U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,491 discloses an apparatus in the form of a trailer, including a rear deck portion which has a sloping ramp section, there being a winch at the forward portion of the trailer to enable a truck or the like to be pulled onto the ramp section. However, such a trailer is not suited for recovery of a newer type of truck, particularly heavy duty truck tractors, which have air "dams" and other aerodynamic structure at the front of the truck which make them extremely difficult to be engaged by any kind of conventional wrecker, and which structure interferes with the recovery of such a truck by a trailer of the type disclosed in Karlik.
Further, certain trucks, such as fire trucks, which have a very long overhang, present special difficulties for recovery by wreckers and other vehicles of the type identified above.
It is to be appreciated that many trucks, because of their configuration at the front of the vehicle, are only recoverable with difficulty. Although there are heavy duty wreckers which are available for pulling such vehicles, recovery of a disabled vehicle of such a specialized type often requires the removal of bumpers, air dams and other structure, or presents extreme difficulty when recovering, particularly in the case of such fire trucks. Further, because of the extreme cost, for purchase and maintenance as well as for insurance, tax and licensing of such specialized wreckers, few business entities can afford practically to keep such wreckers at ready disposal. Thus, a need exists for a relatively low-cost recovery vehicle, particularly such a vehicle which is of the trailer type, so that high insurance, licensing and other costs of self-contained vehicles can be avoided. A need also exists for such a vehicle which can recover the many types of specialized trucks such as those discussed above which have structure, such as a long front overhang, which interferes with their recovery. By recovery is, of course, meant the engagement of the vehicle to be recovered (whether damaged, disabled, stopped or otherwise inoperable) by the recovering vehicle as for purposes of loading or towing (pulling with some of the towed vehicle's wheels on ground) the vehicle to be recovered.